Cutting machine



Oct. 21, 1941. H. E. MORTON CUTTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l 3nventor /WEar/Jflorf Oct. 21, 1941. H, E, MORTON CUTTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 21, 1939 (Ittorneg n N m .nW n m g m u x um 4, v 9 QM; o mm r I N Vw f v 1 T u vv- In C; @E wk 4 3 xi m n a \J M w B M v mm ww aw wfi 4/ Q I I QQR T W. NN\ mm NLU wx QR Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v CUTTING MACHINE Henry Earl Morton, Muskegon Heights, Mich. Application September 21, 1939, Serial No. 295,876

12 Claims.

This invention relates, in general, tocutting machines and, in particular, to a new and improved tool-carrying section therefor.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a new and improved cutting machine which is more readily and selectively adaptable for different duties than heretofore.

Another object is to provide a new and improved cutting machine wherein there is employed a plurality of tool carriers rotatable at different speeds anddriven one by the other for adapting the machine for selectively different duties.

Another object is to provide a new and improved cutting machine which employs a plurality of rotatable, elongated, tool-carrying arbors and whereinthe stresses to which said arbors are subjected during the cutting operations are minimized.

Another object is toprovide a new and improved cutting machine which employs a plurality of horizontally extensible, tool-carrying arbors and a main column support. therefor and wherein the extensibility of said arbors from said support is greater than heretofore and the tore sional deflection in each thereof at anyof its positions is at a minimum.

Another object is to provide a new and improved cutting machine in which the elements thereof are stiifer, lighter and more rigid in construction and fewer in number, the movements of the reciprocable elements unitary, and the supporting of the rotatable element-s improved.

Another object is to provide a new and im proved cutting machine in which there .is employed a pairof stool-carrying arbors which are rotatable at different speeds for performing different work, one of the arbors being driven intermediate its ends to increase the unitary, horizontal extensibility of the two arbors and driving the other arbor at a point substantially at the actual tool carrying end of the machine to reduce the torsional deflection in the second arbor.

' Another object is to provide a new and improved cutting, machine which employs a main column, support and an elongated, arbor-carryingram supported thereby and longitudinally movable relatively thereto and in which machine the construction of said ram is new and improved and better able, when in fully extended position from said column, to support the tools, carried by the. arbors than heretofore.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from a reference to the following specification taken in conjunction 25 the length ofthe base 10 along guides 22 formed onwith the accompanying drawings of whichther 5 are two .(2) sheets and wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the, cutting machine in which the invention is incorporated; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the showing in.

Fig-

Fig.' 3 is a section taken along the lines 3 -3 in Fig. 2;

1;and

Fig: 5'is a section taken along the lines 5-5 in'Fig.'1.

The apparatus which is disclosed in the drawings comprises, in general, a supporting base,

generally indicated at Ill, an upright or main 7 supporting column, generally indicated at l2, a saddle of 'ram' carrier, generally indicated at M,

a ram, generally indicated at I6, and a pair of. 'arbors, spindles or'tool carriers, generally indicated at. l8and 20.

Purely for the purpose of illustration, the up-.

right'or main supporting column I2 is 'shown'as being movable relatively to and in the direction of the cooperating surfaces of said column and said base, the known means by which said column may be so moved being so numerous that none have been shown. This movement between the column I2 and base I0 is of no consequence as far as the invention is concerned, and it may be desired to form said column and said base as an integral unit and to provide said base with somemeans or otherfor rendering said unit mobile. The preferred and most useful embodiment, of course, is that wherein the base 10' is itself mobile and the upright or column [2 is longitudinally movable relatively thereto, for then the entire machine may be moved into as close proximity with to, the work.

The upright or main supporting column [2 is a rigid, vertically upstanding member, enlarged at its lower end for receiving the aforementioned guided support from the base 10, and integrally formed at its upper end with a. head plate 24' the work as desired'whereafter'the column may be moved relatively to the base and even closer be in anyone of several well known forms, but the form shown has been chosen because of its.

simplicity and comprises, a motor 28 which is selectively controllable with respect to its speed and direction of rotation and supported on the enlarged lower end of the column I2, a shaft 30 directly driven by said motor and supported by said column, and a pair of inter-meshed bevel gears 32, one of said gears being carried on and driven by said shaft, and the other of said gears being carried on and in driving relationship with the screw shaft 26.

The saddle or ram carrier I4 is carried by the column I2, such as by means of the cooperation between a pair of laterally spaced, vertically extending flanges 34 formed on the forward face of said column and a pair of flanges 36 complementary thereto and formed on the rearward face of said saddle, and is vertically movable relatively thereto, such as through the agency of .a :splined boss 38 which is formed integrally with said saddle and is in driven engagement with the screw shaft 26. In other words, by proper movement of the shaft 26 the saddle I4 may be moved upwardly or downwardly with respect to the column I2 and guided in such movement by the cooperating flanges 34 and 36.

The ram-carrying portion of the saddle is arranged forwardly of the saddle-carrying portion of the column I2 and is formed witha bore 48 therethrough, the cross section of said bore being preferably, though not "necessarily, rectangular, and the central axis of said bore being horizontal. Within the bore .40 and in free, fitting engagement therewith is the ram I6, said ram being elongated and extending outwardly from either end of said bore. For reciprocating the ram I6 relatively to the bore 40 and saddle I4, said ram has integrally formed on one .of its sides a rack section 42 which extends horizontally for a substantial portion of the length of said ram and is in driven engagement with driving means therefor carried by the saddle I4. The driving means for the rack 42 comprises a pinion 44 in mesh therewith and fixedly mounted on one end of a vertical shaft 46 journalled for rotation about its axis in a boss 48 integrally formed on the saddle I4, the other end of said shaft fixedly carrying one of a pair of meshed bevel gears 58, the other of said bevel gears being fixedly carried on the end of the drive shaft of a motor 52 which is mountd on said saddle and selectively controllable as to its speed and direction of rotation for driving the ram I6 through the rack 42 and pinion 44 at the desired speed and in the desired direction. It will be noted in Fig. particularly that the fit between the ram I6 and the saddle I4 within the bore 40 is substantially close so that as little play as possible will be had between these two members; it will also be noted that the rack 42 is substantially flush with the plane of that face of the ram carrying it so that no ma-- chining of the adjacent face of the saddle I4 will be necessary.

The elongated ram I6 is formed internally with a pair of individual chambers 54 and 56 passing longtiudinally therethrough, the upper chamber 54 be ng formed with end and intermediate bearing portions 58 for rotatably accommodating therein the upper arbor, spindle or tool carrier I8, and the lower chamber 66 being formed with similar bearing portions 68 for rotatably accommodating therein the lower-arbor, spindle or tool carrier 20. These arbors I8 and 28, in the form of elongated shafts or spindles, extend from one end of the ram I6 to the other, andare rotatable with respect to each other and to said ram but are prevented in any well known manner from moving longitudinally relatively to said ram. An end plate 62 is secured to the working end of the ram I6 and has projecting therethrough the toolcarrying end of each of the arbors I8 and 28, these tool-carrying ends of said arbors being shaped, drilled or otherwise formed in any of the well known manners for adapting said ends to the purpose for which each is intended, namely, the direct supporting of a cutting tool, whether said tool is to be used for drilling, milling, reaming, boring, broaching, or otherwise.

The upper surface of the ram I6 is provided with an elongated slot 64 in communication with the chamber 54 housing the upper arbor I8, and extending into said chamber through said slot is a bifurcated section of a bracket 66 Which is fixedly and stationarily carried by the ramcarrying portion of the saddle I4. Between and by the bifurcations of the bracket 66 there is rotatably carried about fixed, parallel axes a pair of meshed gears 68 and I8, gear 68 being arranged above and in driving relationship with gear I8, and gear 10 being keyed, as at 12, to the upper arbor or spindle I8 whereby the latter is rotatably driven by said gear I0 and is axially movable relatively thereto during the longitudinal and unitary movement of the ram I6 and arbors I8 and 20 relatively to the gears 68 and III, the bracket 66 and the saddle -I 4. For driving the arbor I8 through the gears 68 and I8 there is provided a pinion 14 which is in mesh with said gear 68 and keyed to for rotation with a shaft I6 journalled in bearing portions provided therefor in the bracket 68, said shaft fixedly carrying a bevel gear 18 for driving same, and said bevel gear being in driven mesh with another bevel gear fixedly mounted on the drive shaft of a motor 82 stationarily carried on said bracket, said motor, like the other motors 28 and 52, being selectively controllable with respect to its speed and direction of rotation. The slot 64 in the ram I6 is of sufficient length, of course, to allow for any desired amount of longitudinal movement of said ram relatively to the saddle or ram car rier I4.

Mounted on the rotatable arbor or spindle I8 for movement therewith, behind the end plate 62, is a pinion 84, and driven by said pinion is a gear 86 in mesh therewith and fixedly carried on the arbor or spindle 20. The spindle I8 is, therefore, the driver for the spindle 20 while at the same time being operable for rotatably carrying its cutting tool. It is proposed to employ the spindle I8 for relatively light duty and the spindle 28 for relatively heavy duty so that the former may be of lighter weight than the latter and rotated at a higher rate of speed, the pinion 84 being, therefore, smaller in diameter than the gear 86. 1

In driving the spindle or tool-carrying arbor I8 at a point intermediate its ends, the torsional deflection therein is thereby minimized, this being another reason the weight thereof necessary for the work to be done thereby may be minimized. This feature also enables the cutting operations of the tool carried by the spindle I8 (and, of course, the tool carried by the spindle 28) to be carried on at more extended distances from the. main column I2 than heretofore.

In driving the spindle or tool-carrying arbor 20 by the spindle or arbor I8 at a point adjacent or coincident with the actual working end of each and of the machine proper, the torsional deflection in either or both of said arbors is minimized for all positions of the ram l6, whether said ram is in fully extended position or in aposition of full repose. This feature also enables the machine to be employed efliciently and selectively either for high speed, light duty work or for lower speed, heavier duty work.

The single ram l6, in carrying the two arbors I8 and 20, and the saddle or ram carrier M, in carrying said ram, may be of stiffer and more rigid construction than if two rams and two saddles were provided, thus serving their purposes more efficiently, longer and with less attention and repair than heretofore. As a matter of fact, the carrying of the two arbors within the ram gives rise to a ram of deeper construction and increased stiffness and rigidity than heretofore, whereby the tools are more efliciently supported for doing their work more properly and accurately, especially when the ram is at an extended distance from the main column support. The protractions and retractions of the arbors are unitary and dependent upon the protractions and. retractions of the ram, thus enabling the positioning of the two arbors simultaneously at any single position selected therefor. Also, the two arbors, in being enclosed within the single, compact ram and horizontally movable therewith, may be journalled in fixed bearings and be thereby better supported and freer from whipping actions than heretofore.

Although the invention has been described with some detail it is not intended that such description is to be definitive of the limits of the inventive idea. The right is reserved to make such changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as willcome within the purview of the attached claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated, hollow ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto in the direction of the length of the ram, a tool carrier carried within and longitudinally movable with the ram and having an axis of rotation, means carried by the ram carrier and projecting through an elongated opening in the ram and cooperable with said tool carrier for rotating said tool carrier about said axis, a second tool carrier carried within and reciprocable with the ram and having an axis of rotation. and means interconnecting said tool carriers for rotatably driving said second tool carrier about its axis by said first tool carrier.

2. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated, hollow ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto in the direction of the length of the ram, a tool carrier carried within and longitudinally movable with the ram and having an axis of rota-tion, means carried by the ram carrier and projecting through an elongated opening in the ram and cooperable with said tool carrier intermediate its with, said tool carrier being formed along a portion of its length with a driving means therefor, means cooperable with said driving means for rotating said longitudinally movable tool carrier, a second rotatable tool carrier carried within the ram in'parallelism with said first tool carrier and longitudinally movable therewith, and means interconnecting said tool carriers for rotating said second tool carrier by and in accordance with said first tool carrier.

4. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and a hollow, elongated ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto in the direction of the length of the ram, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried within the ram and being longitudinally movable therewith, said tool carrier being formed along a portion of its length with a driving means therefor, means cooperable with said driving means intermediate the ends of said longitudinally movable tool carrier for rotating same, a second ,rotatable tool carrier carried within the ram in parallelism with said first tool carrier and longitudinally movable therewith, and means interconnecting said tool carriers at one end of the, ram, for rotating said second tool carrier by and at a lower speed than said first tool carrier.

5. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated ram carried thereby and longitudinally movable relatively thereto, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried by and within the ram and being longitudinally movable therewith, an elongated spline on said tool carrier, a confining chamber ends for rotating said tool carrier about said axis, a second tool carrier carried within and reciprocable with the ram and having an axis of rotation, and means interconnecting said tool carriers at one end of the ram for rotatably driving said second tool carrier about its axis by said first tool carrier.

3. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and a hollow, elongated ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto in the direction of the length of the ram, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried within the ram and being longitudinally movable therein the ram for said splined portion of said tool carrier and having an elongated opening for providing access thereto, means carried by the ram carrier and extending into said chamber through the opening in the ram and cooperable with said splined portion for rotating said tool carrier, a second rotatable tool carrier carried by and within the ram in parallelism with said first tool carrier and longitudinally movable therewith, and means interconnecting said first and second tool carriers for rotatably driving the latter by the former.

6. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated ram carried thereby and longitudinally movable relatively thereto, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried by and within the ram and being longitudinally movable therewith, an elongated spline on said tool carrier, a confining chamber in the ram for said splined portion of said tool carrier and having an elongated opening for providing access thereto, means carried by the ram carrier and extending into said chamber through the opening in the ram and cooperable with said splined portion intermediate the ends of said tool carrier for rotating said tool carrier, a second rotatable tool carrier carried by, and within the ram in parallelism with said first tool carrier and longitudinally movable therewith, and means interconnecting said first and second tool carriers at one end of the ram for rotatably driving said second carrier by said first carrier.

7. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated, hollow ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto along a path in the direction of the length of the ram, a tool carrier carried by the ram and movable about and along an axis of rotation parallel with said path, means carried by the ram carrier and projecting through an elongated opening in the ram and cooperable with said tool carrier for rotating said tool carrier about said axis, a second tool carrier carried by the ram and movable about and along an axis of rotation parallel with said first axis, and means interconnecting said tool carriers for rotatably driving said second tool carrier about said second axis by said first tool carrier.

8. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated, hollow ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto along a path in the direction of the length of the ram, a tool carrier carried by the ram and movable about and along an axis of rotation parallel with said path, means carried by the ram carrier and projecting through an elongated opening in the ram and cooperable with said tool carrier intermediate its ends for rotating said tool carrier about said axis, a second tool carrier carried by the ram and movable about and along an axis of rotation parallel with said first axis, and mean interconnecting said tool carriers at one end of the ram for rotatably driving said second tool carrier about said second axis by said first tool carrier. I

9. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and a hollow, elongated ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto along a path in the direction of the length of the ram, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried bythe ram and being longitudinally movable in parallelism with said path, said tool carrier being formed along a portion of its length with a driving means therefor, means cooperable with said driving means for rotating said longitudinally movable tool carrier, a second rotatable tool carrier carried by the ram and being longitudinally movable in parallelism with said first tool carrier, and means interdonnecting said tool carriers for rotating said second tool carrier by and in accordance with said first tool carrier.

10. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and a hollow, elongated ram carried thereby and movable relatively thereto along a path in the direction of the length of the ram, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried by the ram and being longitudinally movable in parallelism with said path, said tool carrier being formed along a portion of its length with a driving Ineans therefore, means aa aew cooperablewith said driving means intermediate the ends of said longitudinally movable tool carrier for rotating same, a second rotatable tool carrier carried by the ram and being longitudi nally movable in parallelism with said first tool carrier, and means interconnecting said tool carriers at one end of the ram for rotating saidsecond tool carrier by and at a lower speed than said first tool carrier. I y

11. In' a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated ram carried thereby and longitudinally movable relatively thereto along adefinite path, an elongated rotatable tool carrier carried by the ram and being longitudinally movable in parallelism with said path, an elongated spline on said tool carrier, a confining chamber in the ram for said splined portion of said tool carrier and having an elongated opening for providing access thereto, means carried by the rain carrier and extending into said chamber through the opening in the ram and cooperable with said splined portion for rotating said tool carrier, a second rotatable tool carrier carried by the ram and being longitudinally movable in parallelism with said first tool carrier, and means interconnecting said first and second tool'carriers for rotatably driving the latter by the former. 4 I

'12. In a machine of the character described having a ram carrier and an elongated rain carried thereby and longitudinally movable relatively thereto along a definite path, an elongated, rotatable tool carrier carried by the rain and being longitudinally movable in parallelism with said path, an elongated spline on said tool carrier, a confining chamber in the ram for said splined portion of said tool carrier and having an elongated opening for providing access thereto, means carried by the ram carrier and extending intosaid chamber through the opening in the ram' and cooperable with said splined por- 

